ETHEREAL 2017!

For the fourth year, I am going to tell the story of ETHEREAL and invite you to join!
I have been impassioned by the subject of spirits since I was a child. To know we will reunite and don’t stop existing, is reassuring. Continuing contact with souls has been the intrigue of my life. I am moved by spirit encounters, even in fiction. When I tried reading challenges, there were no paranormal groups that weren’t “YA”. I did something about that!

Another thought was that all faith, mysticism, fantasy, folklore, and all the fun stuff belong side by side. No such thing was available…. until I débuted ETHEREAL in 2014! Please tell anyone reading anything otherworldly about us! Even children’s books fit because they depict animals and plants magically.

An additional inclusion not necessitating ethereal activity, are sacred environments. Three examples are Carol Anne O’Marie, a nun writing about a sleuthing nun and Margaret Frazer, a duo setting a convent in ancient times. Canadian Caroline Roe places a Jewish doctor and daughter in Spain’s 1400s. He solves mysteries for the Bishop.

You may make a goal but there is no such thing as not finishing. :) My group covers every metaphysical possibility. Thousands of people are reading something like this and I hope they connect with us in droves. May 2017 be happy and productive for everyone!

(2) Name the groups you are joining and where you are. It is fun to acquaint our peers.

I gladly answer questions here or by e-mail: RIEDELFascination(at)Gmail(dot)com. Goodreads takes several screens to arrive at messages and it is hard to get comments onto Blogspot. Please e-mail or comment here, instead with Goodreads messages, or counting on Blogspot to let me continue a conversation. I am on dial-up internet.

~ THREE WAYS TO KEEP TABS ~
(1) There is a review page at the ready all year, which is alphabetized, Please follow the entry format and everyone can easily browse authors. There are usually members reading the same books every year.

(2) If you aren’t a writer: finish a few titles and list them in the comment box of any ETHEREAL webpage. If you read a book a month, by all means update us one by one.

(3) Another alternative is sharing a list or write-up you do your own way; again using any ETHEREAL comment box. All that matters is you are compelled to stay in touch.

~ THE GIST ~I run February 1 to January 31. Heavy readers like me are too busy to finish reviews until well into January. I will keep encouraging hosts to shift with me, one month that makes a helpful change. While the old way is on-going, you are welcome to use January to December, knowing you don’t need to close my groups yet. Enjoy Christmas.

People considering challenges in December miss mine, so a post for my groups is important. A Twitter shout-out is appreciated (I only have WordPress and Goodreads). I think the best way is telling folks you notice reading literature that fits, or who are doing similar challenges. Melissa has had a witch one for years. There are other colour challenges, hundreds of mystery, and paranormal / spiritual readers who could be stampeding this way. This could be the year they find us!

Goodreads is handy. A group for all challenge news is GENTLE SPECTRUMS and to chat too. As long as people are talking amiably, topics are limitless. Pet pictures, birthdays, lending a shoulder for hard times, books…. you are my community.

~ TREATS! ~

By December 2017, simply e-mail me to be in our year-end prize draw!
I don’t declare “Canada only”: the nice array of gifts is for all! Electronic donations are great but I value options for adult and physical book-readers like me. I remember wincing about “young adult” fare. If you don’t fancy what’s on my second-hand book list, there are neat other things: postcards, my photo prints and greeting cards, CDs, plant seeds!

If there were fewer than 10 per group, I would hold one year-end draw. If membership and our finances surge, I’ll try going back to a draw for each. ETHEREAL had an astrology reading by Hazellie in 2015! I could approach publishers with a 20+ person following. There is a prize from me at least. :) People interested in supplying swag, please do e-mail me: RIEDELFascination(at)Gmail(dot)com.

~ WELCOME TO MY FOLD! ~
I always answer you. I stick with hosts who visit sign-up posts and show enthusiasm for comments. I am a writer who loves knowing I have reached people. Every member of my groups is treated like gold.

I will e-mail when posts relate to us. Participation can be as busy or private as you prefer but no more riddles and photo opportunities that only two people notice. This is all there is to it! :) Join, keep the review page and comment boxes humming, and chat about my articles. Make yourselves at home! Sincerely, Carolyn.

Thank you for making this so easy. I won’t admit to being a luddite but learning. Lol. I’m in my fifties now and finally have the time to tackle a life long dream of writing. There is so much to learn about it!
I keep repeating the personal mantra I’ve always used and taught to my kids, “There is nothing you can’t do, only things you haven’t learned to do yet.”

Since I’m an avid reader I’m loving all the book reviews. I’ve been honored by authors actually giving me there books to review. How cool is that?
Life is full!!!

I’m happy to have you in any of my challenges for all those books. You can name which of my four in one place, such as here. I figure Ethereal and My Kind Of Mystery for certain, if not Celtic Coasts and the easy topics of Gentle Spectrums as well. We are so few this year because we start in February and I advertised late but we’ll have fun! For the second time I had to look up one of your words but now know “luddite” as well as “ireverant”. :)

I have mixed feelings about being given reviews because what I have at home is so abundant (wait till we do my activity “Show Me Your Stash”!), that it is important I read wherever mood and interest take me. But it is an honour to be approached by authors and I have a few times, including the Quinn series. I only accept physical books and people seem to think Canada is across the moon, so I’m relieved offers are few but feel a thrill when it occurs. Perhaps rarity lets me appreciate it but I find I love life’s little things anyway and never underestimate how special anything is.

Since you have children, something I have only gotten to in kitty form to date: HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY, CYNDI! Mom & Dad are spending it at our country home (one hour from the city) to relax while Ron & I begin gardening season. Since my cats inspired Grandparent spoiling before their sole child became a parent 6 years ago, they really are just as eager to see my bunch as us; birthday cards mailed to the kitties and the whole works. :)

I haven’t done very well so far (only 1 book out of 4 read) and am counting on putting on a big push in December to meet the goal. We’ll see how that goes with the holiday rush. However, I’m still here, lurking around the edges and looking forward to spending some time with my supernatural subject, the Green Man later this month.

You can follow the Jan-Dec trend if you want but an encouraging reminder: my groups don’t close until January 31. I think timing book groups in December is illogical, so we run from February 1! Take your time, or call this session quits and save books for rejoining me.